Tank type vacuum cleaners for the pick up of dirt as well as liquids are known as wet/dry vacuum cleaners, and which are capable of pumping out the liquid solution in the tank in order to empty the recovered solution. This arrangement is known as vacuum dumping and the recovered liquid or solution is emptied by reversing the air flow of the vacuum motor so that when the liquid solution is recovered in the tank, the exhaust air from the motor can be redirected back into the tank, consequently, pressurizing the solution, pumping it out of a tube inside the tank that extends from the inlet of the tank to the bottom of the tank. Furthermore, this tube is provided with an internal flapper closure so that when the device is used as a vacuum cleaner for dry debris, the dirt or debris comes directly into the tank through the inlet, thereby bypassing the aforementioned tube.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a simplified construction of a wet/dry vacuum cleaner which works effectively in either a suction mode or a liquid dump mode. It is the further object of the present invention to provide a wet/dry vacuum cleaner which includes a rotatable air directional valve in a wet/dry type vacuum apparatus.
It is a further feature of the present invention to provide a unique rotating valve in a piping arrangement whereby air can be either directed into the tank or expelled around the periphery of the vacuum depending on whether or not the device is functioning as a vacuum cleaner, or is pumping out a recovered liquid solution.
It is the further object of the present invention to provide a circular pathway for an air stream ejected from a wet/dry type vacuum cleaner tangential motor, and in which the rotatable air directional valve member is in said circular air path, with the capability of selectively changing the air direction depending on the mode the wet/dry vacuum cleaner device is in.